THE National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) paid tribute to 10 Most Notable Athletes of the past two decades as part of its Season 100 celebration.
Gilas Pilipinas stalwart and San Miguel Beer ace CJ Perez led the awardees who were presented and feted during the opener of the league’s century festivity Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Perez initially suited up for San Sebastian, but really made his mark with Lyceum upon his return to the league from the UAAP. He won MVP award in Season 93 and led the Pirates to the finals only to be stymied by the San Beda Red Lions.
‘Nakakataba ng puso dahil naaalala pa rin nila yung nagawa ko,” Perez said after the festivities.
“Bilang student-athlete yun ang pinaka-importante talaga yung makatapos ng pag-aaral,” he added about his message to the current crop of student-athletes.
The 30-year-old Perez, a two-time PBA champion, Best Player of the Conference and Finals MVP, is joined in the honor roll by fellow pro players RJ Jazul, Sidney Onwubere, Alyn Bulanadi, Adrian Nocum, and Baser Amer, along with volleyball players Regine Arocha and Louie Ramirez, trackster Mark Harry Diones, and table tennis player Ryan Jacolo.
Amer, who won four championships in college and two in high school playing for San Beda, wasn’t around during the ceremony and was represented by Red Lions co-team captain Yukie Andrada.
Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara and NCAA Policy Board President Robert Laurel presented the plaques to each of the 10 awardees.
“Each schools were asked to make a list of nominees of their notable athletes from the year 2001 onwards and then make their final recommendations to the Management Committee,” said Arellano ManCom head Peter Cayco.
Ramirez was part of the University of Perpetual Help men’s volleyball team that won four men’s title in Seasons 94, 95, 98 and 99. A member of the Alas Pilipinas men’s team, he was Season 98 regular and Finals MVP.
Jacolo won five gold medals and was MVP five times as part of the St. Benilde men’s table tennis team, while also representing the country in the 2015 and 2017 Southeast Asian Games as part of the national squad.
Buladani played five seasons for the San Sebastian Stags and part of the Mythical selection in Season 95, before being named as part of the Gilas Pilipinas pool, Arocha played for the three-peat Arellano women’s volleyball team from Seasons 92-94, was adjudged Seasons 93-94 MVP Finals, Season 93 Best Opposite Spiker, and 2019 Collegiate Press Corps Volleyball Player of the Year in 2019.
Jazul is the most senior of the pack, having been a member of the original Smart Gilas team, and won championships as member of the Letran Squires (2001) and Letran Knights (2005). He also owned a PBA championship while with Alaska in 2013.
Diones bagged four gold medals for Jose Rizal University track and field team in Season 90 and won silver medals in the men’s triple jump of the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships and 2017, 2019, and 2021 Southeast Asian Games, He also reset the Philippine mark in triple jump during the 2107 SEA Games in Malaysia.
Onwubere was Season 97 Defensive Player of the Year with the Emilio Aguinaldo Brigadiers in the NCAA juniors division and then became part of the Mythical Team in Season 93 while playing for the EAC Generals, while Nocum was the leading scorer of the Cardinals in Season 98 and was among the key players for Mapua when it played Letran in the Season 97 finals.
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